Wizards Continue Makeover, Trade Jamison to Cleveland E-mail
Written by Kevin Burke   
Wednesday, 17 February 2010 20:24

jamisonjumper

The Wizards executed the second step in their rebuilding process Wednesday night, sending Antawn Jamison to the Cleveland Cavaliers for seven-footer Zydrunas Ilgauskas and the Cavs' first-round draft pick. Washington also gets Al Thornton from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for newcomer Drew Gooden, and Cleveland gets Sebastion Telfair from the Clips to complete the three-team trade.

The departure of Jamison leaves one player from the 2006-2007 Wizards (last time DC made the playoffs) and that is Andray Blatche. Jamison was having a great season for Washington, averaging 20.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He will now be LeBron James' new sidekick in the Cavs' run towards an NBA Championship.

As for the new-new-look Wizards, Ilgauskas will more than likely not be part of the team after this year, as his $11.5 million contract expires at the end of the season. Until then, the young Wiz will play with a 34-year old veteran who averages 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Al Thornton comes to DC from the Clippers, where he was having a very good third season, averaging 10.3 points in limited playing time. Now that Thornton is a member of the Wizards, his playing time should increase dramatically.

Of all the new acquisitions, Thornton will more than likely be the only player remaining once this year is over. As judged by the crowd and starting lineup in tonight's game, the Wizards and their fans have already packed it in. It's disappointing to see this, in a year that had so much promise at the beginning of the season. With two first-round picks in the upcoming draft, things could change rather quickly if Washington gets lucky in the lottery. In addition, the Wizards could now be big players in the upcoming free agent market, thanks to an increased amount of salary cap space.



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Comments (3)Add Comment
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written by Brett Johnson, February 17, 2010
Ilgauskas may not be around for 30 days. He is the type of player that is often traded, then immediately waived by the team trading for him, sits out for 30 days, then resigns with his old team (a la Jerry Stackhouse with the Mavs a couple of years ago). My guess is that they waive Ilgauskas to save some salary. I do find it interesting that the Wizards pick up both Josh Howard and Al Thornton since both play SF.
trade
written by Blatant Homerism, February 17, 2010
Big Z will be waved without a doubt and go back to Cleveland.

Seeing as there's still a day left until the deadline... Why not see if the Thunder would be interested in swapping Nick Collison and its first rounder from Phoenix for Mike James? If the Wiz can void Arenas' deal, that would give them the money to be players on the free agent market and sign all their draft picks.
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written by The Miz, February 18, 2010
Good points on both parts.

@Brett, I would assume that Thornton is the guy to stick around over Howard, but it's an interesting point to look at. I don't know whether Z will be waived or not, but if they're saving salary, it would be the smart thing to do.

@BlatantHomerism, from what I've read there is a pretty decent market for James out there, and if they could pull another pick, it would certainly make people feel a lot better about the future.

My question to everyone: If the Wizards are expected to be big players in free agency this offseason, who do they target? Furthermore, if the sale of the team is still up in the air, will they be willing to commit the money?

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 February 2010 21:59
 

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